


Apocalypsis :  Beginning

by SomebodySomeone



Category: CLAMP - Works, X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Novelization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25619701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomebodySomeone/pseuds/SomebodySomeone
Summary: Being the first part of a "novelisation" and expansion of X/1999 by CLAMP.  It does not require any prior knowledge of the work.
Relationships: Monou Kotori/Shirou Kamui
Kudos: 3





	1. PRELUDE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a novelisation of the first volume of X/1999.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashbbacks are shown with angle brackets.  
> Characters' thoughts are shown in italics.  
> Telepathic communications are shown in circle brackets.

_Tokyo._

_It's been six years._

_I have returned._

_Mother…_

He jumped off of Tokyo Tower. 

1 Apr, 8:30 AM

'Onii-chan!', yelled a high-school boy riding on a bicycle. 'Onii-chan, sorry I kept you waiting!' This boy, a certain Monou Kotori, picked up his sister, Kotori, and was cautioned by his father, Kyougo, to 'be careful on the way!'. All three were happy that the snow had stopped earlier when the temperature had gone above freezing.

'We're leaving right now!'

'Understood.'

'Take your time! We're going now!'

'Be careful!'

'We know!'

Meanwhile, a few girls were talking about the Monou siblings. This was quite common in the school that they went to. 

'So, do you really have a crush on Fuuma-san? He seems very serious and stern.'

'He really has a really kind and warm heart.'

'Last week, my brother fell into a river. It's a good thing that Fuuma-san saved him.'

'When I was sick, he carried me to the hospital.'

'Oh, really? Are you making stuff up again?'

'No! Kotori-san still sends flowers quite often!'

'It's a shame that their mother died. They have grown up well, though.'

'Kyougo-sensei has been raising them single-handedly. That must not be easy!'

'If only Kotori-san was not so weak, like her mother was!'

'Hey, Fuuma!', said Kotori as they arrived at school, 'I had a really good dream last night! I dreamed about Kamui. Kamui returned again…'

'Monou-senpai!', called a girl, turning back towards them as she entered the school.

'Good morning!'

'Good morning, Kotori-san!', called another.

'Good morning!'

The two girls blushed. They had gotten a response from Monou Fuuma! This would give them lots of prestige points with his large crowd of admirers. 

'Monou-senpai, high school knockout!'

'He's always so handsome!'

'He's only a second-year and he's already so reserved. So cool!'

Kotori responded by stating that "Fuuma's not at all reserved! He doesn't like to talk, but that's because he's in deep thought, just like the rest of the animals.' If someone else had said that, they would have been made fun of, but when Kotori said that, everybody accepted it. Mostly, anyway.

'She mentioned Monou-senpai and animal in the same breath! I will not agree to that!' Kotori got punched in the arm hard enough that she fell over, probably partially theatrically.

'Kotori has a weak heart. If she gets sick, then what?'

'Something small like this will not make me sick. It's okay. I'm in a really good mood today!'

'Why is that?'

'I had a good dream. If that dream comes true, I will be very happy.'

Meanwhile, Kamui found himself blocked on a sidewalk. 'Are you delinquents looking for trouble?', he said, before shouting 'The first day I transfer to this school and you want me to be late!?' The two delinquents flickered, only to be replaced by nine identical ill-defined men wearing dark coats and sunglasses, like secret agents in trashy movies. Kamui turned and tried to punch one of them, which dodged, but lost its balance and fell to the ground, before swinging his fists into two others. Another two appeared, but were thwarted when Kamui froze the water that had soaked into the sidewalk during the rainstorm the previous day, cracking it, and used the energy drained in the cooling of the sidewalk to lift huge chunks of material into the air and send them flying. A third man in black got through, but Kamui punched it hard enough that it smashed into a nearby wall.

'YOU GUYS ARE EYESORES! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT NOW!' Kamui unleashed a magic blast, and the five remaining entities disintegrated, leaving only ash and strips of paper. 'So they were using shikis against me. They must underestimate me.' Kamui picked up one of the strips of paper. It grew an eye and tried to wrest itself out of Kamui’s grasp. He dropped it and it transformed into a bird. Kamui told it to tell its boss that if he or she causes trouble again, then Kamui would definitely kill him or her. The bird flew off. Kamui burned the remaining strips of paper with another magic blast.

_He did not even set up a kekkai. He just used his power as he pleased. Is he really Kamui?_ , wondered Arashi, standing in a tree and observing.

'Starting from the next page is the material that the test will be on. Everyone, please pay attention. I know how to recognise students who get answers off of the internet. Since the transfer student still has not arrived…'

He continued talking, but Kotori did not notice anything he said after that. Kotori, that morning, had dreamed that Kamui had come back. Seven years before, when they were nine, Kamui had been transferred away, and the Kamui that usually inhabited Kotori's dreams was the Kamui that had left. However, the Kamui of that day's dream was the same age as her, but he had the same smile as the Kamui who had left. The reason why Kotori had lost track of the time was that she had seen him, walking along the path into the school, holding a brief-case behind his back with one hand. Kotori stood up.

'Monou-san. What are you looking at?' Kamui had disappeared.

'Is there something wrong? Are you ill?'

'No, I just think I dozed off again.'

'It was the spring weather, wasn't it?' 

_Kamui...I was mistaken…_

_Maybe it was because I wanted to see you so much, Kamui...what I wanted the most...I imagined it to become real._

_I let his shadow appear before my eyes._

_Even if it was my imagination, I feel really happy._

BONG!

A football hurtled into the net, fast enough to tear a hole right through it. The goalie was hugging a pole.

'Ah! Monou-san scored again!'

'I'll bring back the ball.', said Monou Fuuma, staring at the hole in the net. _Again?_

'I thought I was dead for sure.', said the goalie.

'He's a nice guy, but look at how cold he is.', said the coach.

'His sister Kotori-chan's really cute.', said a member of Fuuma's team.

'My Kotori-san. Thank goodness you're not like your brother.', thought another member of the team out loud.

'You said Kotori-san was whose!? Say NOTHING MORE!'

_She's so beautiful, like a modern Xi Shi. She's really a unique and precious person! She always comes to school with Fuuma, though, so I don't even have a chance to say "hi" to her. No matter what, I want to be her friend, but big, scary Fuuma is always with her._

Fuuma had found the ball, and was chasing after it. Beyond the football court, the ground dropped off, and the ball had attained quite a speed. He had almost reached it when-

'Kamui-san?' He was standing there, holding a bag or a briefcase. Fuuma looked into his eyes, which looked sadder than when they had last seen each other, and tried to approach him, but he just scowled and walked off.

'Kamui?'

'Hello. You've finally arrived!'

_Kamui?_

'Let me introduce him. This is the transfer student, late on his first day.' The attempt at shaming was lost on everybody. Kamui barely noticed, and many of the girls in class declared loudly that he was cute and handsome. Kamui gave even less thought to them than he had to the teacher's statement. 

'His name is Shirou Kamui. He used to live here. I hope you get along well.'

_Kamui...It's really Kamui! Kamui has finally returned!_

'Where should I sit?'

'There is a vacant seat next to Mo-.'

'I see.'

'This guy is so lucky. He just _has_ to get the seat next to Kotori.', said a boy.

'Kamui-kun!', exclaimed Kotori.

_Last night's dream came true. You finally came back. This is great!_

The bell rang.

‘There will be a test next class. Everyone should prepare diligently.'

'Stand up! Salute-'

'Kamui-chan! Hey!', said Kotori.

'Hey! Where are you from?', said one girl.

‘Shirou Kamui-san, your name is so cool!', said another. Many others said similar things. Kamui, however, walked quickly out of the room. 

'What's wrong with him?'

'He scared me.'

'He seems to be shy!'

Kotori went into the hallway and shouted 'Hey! Wait a moment!'. Kamui continued to walk. Kotori followed him into the stairwell. 'Wait for me! Kamui-chan!' They ascended two flights of stairs and reached the roof. 'Kamui-chan. Is it you? I'm Kotori. From the Togakushi shrine.' She was out of breath, but Kamui was in sight, and he had nowhere to run. 'Kamui-chan!'

'Don't annoy me!', he snapped, without even turning to face her.

'What?'

'Please don't talk to me.' 

'Why?'

'I am completely different from six years ago.'

'Kamui-chan...I'm really sorry. You're right. Since then, it's been six years. I'm sorry that I gave you trouble.' Her chest hurt. She went to the staircase and slowly began to descend. 'Kamui…' 

_This is not normal. This is not a problem with my heart. I feel as if-_

_How does the staircase look like this. The school has three floors, a roof and a basement. Why does the staircase go down-_

_-so far I can't see the bottom?_

There was a flash of light. Kotori fell to the ground. She felt as if a sword went through her heart.

Kamui jumped, grabbing the mesh on the railings around the roof, before standing on one. 'Come out! When are you going to stop following me?'

A giant figure of fog formed around him, swirled and vanished.

'That person was only using "eyes" to fly here. To be able to avoid my attack means that they must be a skilled magician!'

_I have just returned to Tokyo and I encounter this. Mother, I have returned to where, six years ago, you were forced to flee, taking me along. This Tokyo…_

Princess Hinoto sat in a magic circle. Energy built up around it and dispersed in a crackling flash.

'Hinoto-hime!'

(there is no need to worry even though he broke through my dreamscape)

'What? A person could break through Hinoto-hime's powers?'

(the darkness is at his side)

'What?'

'It's already starting to move.'

The circle convulsed.

_Kamui._

_The one who will determine the world's fate._

-The city of Tokyo, or rather, a broken shadow of it, the buildings twisted out of shape, bent and shattered.-

Kotori was floating. There were koi fish floating around her, but they were the size of people. Light streamed in from all sides. 

'Where does this lead to?' The light and the patterns on the koi fish formed into 

-a gigantic clockwork contraption surrounding her on all sides- 

-which faded into a white fog.- 

-A line of circles forming into a ball.-

-Kamui, as he was six years ago, catching and throwing it-

_What is that?_

_A ball?_

_A ball._

_A round…_

_A very round…_ blue and green and yellow covered in white wisps, like in that movie. _What was it called?_

_Is that...the Earth?_ It cracked- 

-Kamui, standing above it, with wings, one white and elegant, the other black, like a bat's, covered in white streamers- 

-the Earth was surrounded in a halo of creatures that looked like dragons-

_The Earth has broken into pieces. It has been destroyed._

1 Apr, 6:00 PM

Kotori woke up. She was in an unfamiliar bed. The room around her was white. _I must have fainted._ Two people stood over her. One was wearing black and the other was wearing white.

'Kotori?' 

She recognised the voice of the person in black. 'Fuu...Fuu...ma…' She blinked. She was in a hospital. The other person standing over her was a woman she had seen before but could not remember the name of, who was wearing a lab coat.

'Awake now? Let me see…looks like there's nothing to worry about.', said Magami Tokiko.

'How did I…'

'You fainted on the stairs. Luckily, you were found and immediately sent here. Monou-san, you must be careful! I'm sorry that I gave you trouble, but you can return home now.'

'But...class…' Kotori sat up. She did not feel tired.

'It ended a while ago. You should be happy about that! Oh, and you, older brother, should be looking more carefully than usual while bringing your younger sister home!'

'Thank you for looking after Kotori.'

'I'm so sorry. I must have given you a lot of trouble.'

'You don't need to be polite. You're so cute...This one is a hindrance. Fuuma-kun, your tall height is a distraction from my work!'

'Uh, one more thing.’, said Kotori, stepping out of bed. ‘Who carried me here?'

'It was an unfamiliar male student. Not very tall, but handsome. Actually, he may have been a tomboy.'

'Was it Kamui-chan?' 

<Don't annoy me. Don't talk to me. I am completely different from six years ago.>

_It couldn't really have been Kamui, could it? Not after that!_

'It's almost dark outside. Be a little more careful and go home quickly!'

'I really have to thank you for today!' Kotori bowed and left. Fuuma followed. Tokiko sighed, sat down and took off her glasses.

_So you have finally returned. Kamui._

<Don't talk to me!>

<Don't annoy me!>

What had happened?

'What happened to the Kamui-chan that left six years ago?'

'Today in the school-yard, I ran across Kamui-san.'

'Your dream came true.'

<I am completely different from six years ago.>

'The only part that came true was that Kamui-chan returned.'

'Kotori, are you okay?'

'I'm fine. Today, it's my turn to cook.'

'It'd be better if I cook.'

'It's okay.'

'Before we go home, let's go to the market.'

1 Apr, 7:45 PM

_It's still an empty lot…_ , thought Kamui. _It hasn't at all changed from six years ago._

_Mother…_

<Kamui, you have to grow up to be strong! For the purpose of living on, for avoiding death, grow up to be strong! No matter what, you must be strong and live on! Until the promised year.>

<Ka...mui...go to Tokyo! Your destiny is waiting for you!> _flames surrounded by flames_ <MOTHER!>

_I've come back. I obeyed your last words. I came back to Tokyo again._

He saw a person standing on a nearby telephone pole. He realised that he remembered him from earlier. He had been standing around when those men in black attacked him. Kamui immediately jumped to the conclusion that him, or the people he was working for, had killed 

'I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, BASTARD!', shouted Kamui. 'I ran into you when I was coming to school. Now, when I return home, I run into you again. It's been a _great_ day.'

'And what makes _me_ angry is that, this morning, you did not even conjure up a kekkai before fighting! You just used your power as you pleased.', retorted Saiki Daisuke. 'Are you really Kamui?'

'Stop wasting your breath. Get ready to be in for it!' Kamui walked backwards and assumed a defensive posture. 'I'm in a bad mood today!' He jumped onto an electric pole.

'Short-tempered guy!', shouted Daisuke, still on the ground. 'ARE YOU REALLY KAMUI!?'

'STOP WASTING YOUR BREATH! I AM THE REAL KAMUI!'

At that, Daisuke formed a protective spherical shield of wind around himself and jumped onto a nearby electrical pole.

'If you don't set up a kekkai before you start fighting, you may hurt innocent people!'

Kamui responded by calling a blast of energy. The area around him became cold and dark for less than a second, and a cloud of fog formed around him. The energy beam hit Saiki's wind-shield and bounced off. In a nearby house, a child cried for his parents as the windows on the proximate wall of his house were shattered. Luckily for them, the wall and windows had caught the entirety of the blast. ‘I only consider things that involve me.’ 

_Not good! Innocent people are involved. At this rate, some may be hurt or killed. Wait…_

'WANNA JUMP?', shouted Daisuke. He jumped into the air, and then from roof to roof, trying to get Kamui to follow him to somewhere. Kamui followed him.

_Like this. Just keep following me!_

Daisuke jumped to the top of a tall building that was under construction. Kamui followed just behind him. 'You run pretty fast.', he said, more surprised than admiring.

'You gave me quite a shock. You didn't even consider that you could have harmed innocent people?'

'I just consider things that involve myself.'

Kamui jumped in the air, which cooled around him, with a sphere of shadow forming. He cast a pulse of energy into the roof of the building, where Daisuke was standing. It broke through multiple layers of temporary flooring, creating a hole through which Saiki Daisuke fell. However, he used his wind powers to cushion his landing.

_How is he that strong?!_

Kamui looked and jumped onto a piece of rubble jutting nearly a floor above him. 'Nice. You're actually still alive! Seems like you're pretty sturdy. Unlike the shikis.'

Daisuke produced a ring-shaped wind spell around himself, catching tiny pieces of debris in it. 'This isn't over yet!' He then launched his wind razor outward. It cut a line across Kamui’s stomach, drawing blood. _A cut from a blade? Can this guy manipulate wind?_

'That was a warning!', shouted Daisuke. 'Stop this before someone gets hurt! A selfish bastard like you cannot possibly be Kamui!' Kamui prepared an attack. Daisuke already had prepared one. A giant blast of air struck Kamui and propelled him through two interior walls and into a third. 

(I think I knocked him out this level of power as compared to Kamui is irrelevant it looks like he is almost the exact opposite of the dream-seer's visions)

(does this mean that you think that he is not the real Kamui), telepathically indicated Hien or Souhi. Daisuke did not know how to distinguish their mind-signals, because they were almost identical to each other.

Kamui picked up the rubble on top of him and got up. 'You never stop gibbering.' Kamui smirked. 'You seem to be someone who talks irresponsibly.'

Kamui jumped upwards, through the hole that he had created, and back on to the roof. Screaming 'KAMUI!', Daisuke jumped as well. 

'COME AND TAKE THE FINAL BLOW!', shouted Kamui. A massive blast of energy hit Daisuke as they passed each other in their jumps, slamming him hard against a wall of the building. He was knocked almost unconscious. Kamui walked up to his body, lying on the ground, and kicked Daisuke,who feebly raised a hand and lowered it in a gesture of surrender. Kamui kicked Daisuke again. However, before he could kick a third time, another person jumped into the hole in the building onto a beam lying across the hole that Kamui had made. 

'And who are you?!', yelled Kamui, as Arashi landed gracefully, hair swishing. 'Are you trying to take away my prey?'

'The fight is over. Its outcome is already decided. You _won_. I have no intention to fight you.'

Kamui probably would have left if Arashi's tone had not been condescending, like the way a teacher talks to a misbehaving child.

'Hey, are you trying to take away my prey? He was the one who started the fight! Let us finish it!'

Arashi raised her hand and moved it down quickly, so quickly that Kamui could not see where the sword she held came from.

_Did that sword come from the middle of her palm?_

Arashi spun in a circle, holding the sword outward. Kamui jumped before it hit him. _In the air, I am nearly invincible! Arashi can only attack with a sword, a weapon that probably cannot damage anything beyond its length. I can, however, attack from a distance._ Kamui charged up a massive blast of energy, and then fired it. However, just before he launched it, Arashi, holding Daisuke's limp body, jumped into the air, away from him. The attack expanded the hole, breaking through another three floors of the building, but did not hurt Arashi or Daisuke, who were escaping to the National Diet Building. 'WAIT!', yelled Kamui. 'WE WILL MEET AGAIN!'

Hien and Souhi looked upon Daisuke, held in Arashi's arms as they entered the National Diet Building, with a mixture of anger, shock and horror. 

'Saiki-dono!'

'Who did this!?'

'Kamui did.', responded Arashi. She looked scared and surprised as she handed him over to Hien and Souhi. Neither of those emotions were normal for her.

'Kamui?'

'But he's on our side!'

(Arashi-dono), called Hinoto.

(I am here)

(what do you think about Kamui)

(his strength is clearly Kamui's)

(I understand now Kamui has not fully awakened yet)

Saiki began to wake up.

'That..that...bastard...isn't Kamui...he can't be…'

'Saiki-dono. Why do you think this?', asked one of the guards. Saiki usually did not talk like that.

'That bastard...definitely has powers...beyond expectation..'

'Saiki-dono?'

'But...hurting innocent people...damaging their property...somebody like this...this can't be Kamui. He can't be Kamui…' He sat up. He looked less zoned out. 'He doesn't even _care_! He cannot be Kamui!'

'In that case, Saiki-dono is suggesting that Hime-sama's dream is _wrong_!'

'Saiki-dono, are you disrespecting Hime-sama!?' They were furious.

(QUIET)

(Souhi Hien go treat Saiki-dono quickly)

(as you wish)

(as you wish) They bowed simultaneously. 

Arashi joined the conversation. (Hinoto-hime)

(just call me Hinoto-san even though I am a blind dream-gazer I am not a princess Souhi and Hien their parents both called me hime and both of them got in the habit of calling me that as well they are very loyal to me they are carrying on their parents' unfulfilled wishes)

(Hinoto-san, then, the sight you saw in your dreams was)

(the end of the Earth I have been asked many times by people to predict the future through my dreams)

Arashi saw-

-the Earth, with two dragons, forming a spiral around it, like an eye-

-Earth, as a marble, made of glass-

-A star, surrounded by three rings of fog-

-A white circle, at its centre a tetrahedron of metal filament, with bristles of metal around it, floating through space-

-a pool in a foggy landscape, a feather falling into it, a ripple, stillness-

-the Government Building of Tokyo, stained and with its windows shattered-

-entire blocks of collapsed buildings standing in a desert stained orange-yellow with acid-

-the desert wasteland that would remain of Tokyo-

-a chirping sound made by no bird from this Earth-

-a mechanism of gears-

-Tokyo Tower, standing amid a destroyed landscape, atop it seven people in hooded cloaks-

-the sound of a destroyed world-

-and one of those figures-

-turned towards her-

_Kamui. He realised!? He saw me within a dream!? HE CAN FEEL MY PRESENCE WITHIN A DREAM!?_

Hinoto-hime floated within the marble of the Earth. It shattered. The winged figure of Kamui watched, one wing that of an angel, one that of a bat. Dragons coiled around him, not elegant like before, but hideous creatures, like snakes, covered in bristling spines and with mouths like anglerfish and too many eyes.

(are you sure), asked Arashi. Her face showed doubt.

(that face was definitely of a high-schooler)

(was the dream really all?) Hinoto did not reply. (just for this mere dream you have gathered us all together like this)

Arashi was annoyed. _Is this all a ruse? This is unbelievable! Is Hinoto a hoaxer?_

(I cannot tell you right now)

(your highness), responded Arashi, this time sarcastically.

(somebody has come to pay a visit) proclaimed Souhi, sensing that the situation would become very awkward if left alone.

(well I will be going now), replied Arashi. She bowed, turned, and was walking out the door when Hinoto gave her a parting message.

(Arashi-dono please take good care of Kamui the fate of the world is in the hands of Kamui)

Arashi closed the door.

_This world's fate?_

_HInoto bears the appearance of a young girl, but she is really much older. She can't speak, or see, or hear, or walk. Deep underneath this building, she predicts the futures of Japan's political figures. She gave herself up completely, immersing herself within dreams, giving her life over to divining. How could she lie about this? About any of this? No, the futures contradict each other. The one she gives to politicians and this one… one of them must be wrong, and this one does not make much sense. Why would she lie to me, though? I could see her lying to politicians, maybe. But I can see the use in lying to us about this… she couldn't do something like that._

_I remember that, during the Cold War, various countries tried to create methods to induce false visions in the other side's dream-seers._

_Could Hinoto have been tricked?_

_No, a trickster would not have put something as impossible as Kamui noticing her._

_Or perhaps_ Kamui _is the trickster!_

_But how could he access a Cold War program of another country?_

_Or is it just an innate ability of the Kamui._

_Is the Kamui in the dream the trickster disguised as Kamui?_

_That would explain quite a lot._

Kamui could not run or jump. He could barely even stand. His cut was only starting to heal. Blood. His blood was leaking out of him.

_That bastard was so arrogant!_

'Crap!', he said. The pool of blood around him was going to touch his bag. 'Damn!' He pulled it out of the way. It hurt. He was shaking. He sat down. He could barely stay awake. Everything was becoming dark.

_Mother…_

1 Apr, 8:30 PM

'Fuuma. I'll buy the notebooks tomorrow.'

'It's okay. I'll go. It's on the way.'

'Be more careful, onii-chan!'

Fuuma left the house and walked along the street.

_Today, I bumped into Kamui on the school grounds._

_It must have been Kamui._

_But why did he walk past me without saying a word?_

'There's a huge hole in the sidewalk.', said a guy on the sidewalk.

'Did the gas pipes explode?', offered Fuuma.

'Yamamoto-san and Suxuki-san had their windows broken about 50 minutes ago.'

Fuuma suddenly realised where he was. _A long time ago, this used to be Kamui's home. Now that he’s returned…_

_Did he get into a fight?_

Outside it, he saw a figure, unconscious, curled up on the ground in a pool of blood. A briefcase lay on the ground next to his outstretched hand. Nobody else seemed to notice him.

'Kamui-san?' Fuuma tried to lift Kamui up. He was quite heavy. He was clearly in pain and he looked terribly tired, only barely capable of keeping his eyes open, his face covered in cuts. Fuuma lifted Kamui to a standing position. 'You're injured! Come to my house!', said Fuuma, with one arm around Kamui's waist

'Please let go of me.' Kamui tried to shove him, but he did not let go.

'Kamui…?' Fuuma restored Kamui's balance

'Fuuma.', whispered Kamui in his ear, before spinning in a circle, breaking Fuuma's grip. Kamui leaned against a pillar. 'I...don't need…you to mind...me…' Kamui clutched the cut across his stomach.

Fuuma panicked, but managed to catch him. Kamui still resisted. 'Fuuma...don't...mind...me…' were the last things he said before he fainted.

_I don't want you two to get involved, only you two_ was the last thing the thought.

The doorbell rang. Kotori turned around, suddenly exuberant. She unlocked the door and Fuuma entered, carrying the unconscious Kamui. 

'Kamui!!!', Kotori shouted. She had no idea what she should have done in this situation. 'Fuuma, what's going on? He's seriously injured!' Kotori was panicking, and rightly so. 

'Kotori? Fuuma? Did something happen?', asked Kyougo, not entirely realising what the situation was.

'It's _Kamui-chan_!', exclaimed Kotori. Her father still did not realise exactly what was happening.

'If we found him even a bit later, there would have been a big problem.'

'A big problem? That’s an understatement.'

'Doctor, please don't tell the police-'

'It's okay. I understand. He was a good childhood friend of you and your sister… Kotori-san, right? By the way, do you know which heartless bastard would actually take a SWORD and try to MURDER a young kid like this!! IT'S A DISGRACE!' During the last two sentences, he had gotten louder and angrier progressively. 'WE SHOULD HAVE THAT SENT TO THE POLICE STATION!'

Fuuma's main thought about that was how odd it was that the doctor had called a high schooler small.

The doctor calmed down, as he had found something to puzzle about. 'But what in the world could cut like this? It looks more like a blast of shrapnel than a cut with a sword. But it is all in a straight line,'

Fuuma opened the door, trying to look for Kotori. The door bumped into something. Fuuma saw Kotori in front of the door, looking like a door had slammed into her. _Oh._

'I'm not hurt.'

'What were you doing?'

'You scared me. How is Kamui-chan?'

'He's already asleep and recovering.'

After that comment, the doctor chimed in that 'The patients I treat always turn out fine!'

Kotori bowed, grinning elatedly. 'Ah!! Thank you so much!'

'I'm sending the doctor home.'

'Look after Kamui-san!', he said as he left.

'Ah, but how can I-', Kotori tried to ask, but the doctor had left already, and Fuuma, too, was leaving.

'I'll be back very soon.'

Kotori was startled. What was she supposed to do? 'Sorry if I disturbed you.', she said to Kamui, unaware that 

  1. It was more disruptive than her reaction to her confusion and
  2. If Kamui had actually been disrupted, he would have reacted in a quite obvious way.



However, Kamui was still asleep, so Kotori had nothing to do except think. To think about the dream where Kamui had destroyed the Earth.

_Why would I dream of something like that?_

<I am completely different from six years ago>

_Could it be that the Kamui of now is incapable of being my friend?_

_Could it be that he actually desires the end of the world?_

Kotori stroked Kamui's head. 

_It's okay if you don't like me anymore. Please don't do anything dangerous, though. I would hate for people to hurt you, and I would hate for people to get hurt by you._

Arisugawa Sorata sat on the roof of a house. He was angry at nothing in particular.

'How can I be so unlucky? I finally can talk to Kamui but how was _I_ supposed to know that some big brother would show up? They seemed to be getting along, but then they disappeared. Did they raise a kekkai and keep me out of it specifically?', he complained to nobody in particular. 'When I finally caught up to Kamui, the building had a huge hole in it.' Anger gave way to disappointment. He quieted down, partially because the depth of his emotion had decreased, and partially because he realised that normal people might notice if he started shouting occult secrets. _Of course, they will probably learn of this later anyway. After all, this is the Final Year._ 'Then this aggressive sister appeared and materialised a sword from her palm. Someone created this blast of energy and I got knocked pretty hard, and when I was back on the chase, Kamui was sleeping and a cute girl was sitting next to him! And he's just lying there comfortably! But the place they were in was strongly warded.' Sorata laughed. 'He's so lucky! That is why whoever wants to give this young couple trouble can't blame me for being impolite.' A man stood on a nearby tree. He wore a pink suit with the waistcoat unbuttoned. Sorata had been watched, but he was not sure if the man had understood what he had said. 'Old pal.', said Sorata. 

'By the way, about what you said… uh, I have no intention of giving them trouble. You see, this is my job.'

'Who are you, old pal?' Sorata's baseball cap slipped down his face slightly. He lifted it again. He tried to seem friendly. 

'I'm only a passerby. Please don't mind me.', said Kigai Yuuto, condescendingly. 

'Why would an ordinary passerby just climb onto a tree on purpose?' Sorata knew the answer : Yuuto was _not_ an ordinary passerby. However, he wanted to buy time, and he did not like it when random strangers treated him like an idiot (although he was fine with calling himself an idiot), so he decided to try to get Yuuto to humiliate himself through overextending his clearly faulty logic

'Oh, the weather was nice, so I decided to take a walk.' Yuuto saw that this line of conversation would go nowhere, so he followed it. It would help him understand Sorata better.

'Hahahahaha!' Sorata faked a laugh in a way that made it clear that the laugh was fake. 'You amuse me, old pal! Hahahahahahaha!' He smirked. 'Hmpfh. What do you want? Really? I know you are not a normal passerby.'

'I am looking for the Kamui. What should I do?' Both of them were now completely serious and slightly angry.

Sorata began to charge up a repulsion spell. 'I was also looking for Kamui, and I finally found him! But he left with some guy in a school uniform and I didn't have enough time to ask him anything!' Sorata stared. What he said was only technically true. Yuuto would be able to see through it if he had listened earlier, so Sorata would know by his reaction. However, Yuuto had figured out what Sorata was trying, and stared impassively. Sorata clenched his fists and laughed. 'If I keep waiting like this, I'll turn into an old man! Old pal, do you and the guy in the school uniform work together?'

'Nope!' Yuuto exaggerated every facial movement. 'I have nothing to do with him!'

'WHY DON'T I FIRST SETTLE THINGS WITH YOU AND THEN LOOK FOR HIM TO GET THINGS EVEN!', screamed Sorata. Yuuto flinched, amazed that a _boy_ was looking to fight him. The repulsion spell hit. Yuuto was knocked off of his tree and into another. When he opened his eyes again, everything looked grey, with the lightness varying with distance, not with reflected light.

'So this must be a kekkai.', said Yuuto. He got up and jumped back onto his tree. 'You set up a kekkai. Are you a "Dragon of Heaven"?'

'I am a gallant knight who supports peace, not allowing harm to come to ordinary people!', Sorata shouted self-glorifyingly.

_A kekkai is a pocket dimension. By fighting there, the "real world" will not be hurt, unless the person setting up the kekkai dies or is seriously wounded. If that happens, then the damage within the kekkai will be inflicted within the real world._

'Indeed. You are also-'

Sorata cut him off. 'Old pal, if you are involved in the apocalypse-' they jumped into the air, with electricity crackling out of Sorata's gloved right hand '-THEN I CAN'T LET YOU SEE KAMUI!' 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing has been changed from the original plot-wise, although I did add a bit more on some characters' lines of thinking.
> 
> Thanks to CLAMP (of course) for creating X/1999 and thanks to AKK and Leareth for keeping the fandom alive.


	2. OVERTURE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adaptation of volume 2 of X/1999.

1 Apr, 9:00 PM

'I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Arisugawa Sorata! I'm a playful, cute high school junior!' Him and Yuuto would have collided, along with their magical barriers, but they decided that they should introduce themselves first. Yuuto shot the end of his metal-fiber whip into the ground.

'Thank you for the polite introduction.' Yuuto and Sorata landed, facing each other. 'Then I should introduce myself as well.' Sorata shot a blast of electricity at Yuuto.  _ What can he do to repulse it? _

A series of blasts flew towards Yuuto. They did nothing. His whip had fully extended, and bent into a metal grid around him.

'That absorbed it? What is that!'

'A makeshift Faraday cage. I have fought electromancers before. I am Kigai Yuuto, an ordinary civil servant working at the local ward office.'

'Respectfully, sir, you do not look like a civil servant. You look like a pimp.'

'And you look like a gigolo.'

'Do you have any evidence to support that?'

'Do you have any evidence that I look like a pimp?'

'You wear pink.'

'Yeah. I get that a lot.' Both of them laughed. They unleashed the attacks that they had been charging, an expanding sphere of electricity and coils of wire pulsing with occult energy crashing against each other.

'That's an interesting weapon, mister! It looks like a huge fire-cracker!'

'And that's amazing static electricity.'

'You're pretty good. Even though you work in a-' Another round of attacks collided. Inside the kekkai, windows shattered and the roof of a house was destroyed.

'You're a real comedian, boy.'

'You sure are an interesting guy, mister!'

'If you praise me too much, I'll get embarrassed.' Yuuto paused and stared at the sky. 'But that's an excellent kekkai. A square with 6 kilometre diagonals, cut into an alternate dimension.'

'Because I'm such a candid and cute fellow, the kekkai I make are also cute!'

'I dispute your aesthetic sensibilities. Even the Yugoslavians didn't think that monochrome cubes were cute.'

'Well, anyway, if you want to leave this kekkai, you'll have to kill me.', said Sorata, finally realising the seriousness of the situation.

'So it would seem.'

Fuuma checked the bag he was holding, which contained some notebooks and Kotori’s medication.  _ Take this medicine every six hours, 30 minutes after eating. _ When he looked up, he saw that everything had turned grey, all text had disappeared and-

- _ The shades of grey must be differentiated by distance, not by albedo. _ He was inside of a sonar image, not an old black-and-white one. There were two people fighting. Fuuma leaped into the air, landing a block away from Yuuto and Sorata, at the edge of the zone of devastation. 'What the hell?!'

'How could someone enter the kekkai!?', shouted Sorata. Him and Yuuto called off their attacks.

'What are you…', said Yuuto, not understanding how it was possible for Fuuma to enter a kekkai without the owner allowing him in.  _ Does Sorata know him? Is he another of the seals? If so, why was Sorata surprised when he arrived? Is he smart enough to have been able to fake his reaction on the fly? Probably not. _

Fuuma remembered Kamui's injuries, the tearing up of the street and the wrecking of the shrine. 'Are you guys the ones who caused Kamui-san's injuries?'

'Did you say  _ Kamui _ ?', asked Sorata. If this person was associated with the final battle, it could explain things. However, he already knew who the other Dragons of Heaven were, and assumed that the Dragons of Earth knew who their allies were.

'So, you also have business with the Kamui.'

'You guys must have done that to Kamui-san…', said Fuuma. It was not a logical statement, and Fuuma would have realised that if he were calmer, but he was not calm at that time, and he was not logical. Realising that the fight could turn into a three-way with a person with unknown, mysterious and unheard-of powers, Sorata and Yuuto called a draw and agreed to try to talk their way out of the situation. 

'You should clear up this misunderstanding.', said Yuuto. 'He has a mean look in his eyes.'

'Wha? We didn't try to kill Kamui-san!', protested Sorata, loudly, before recalling the kekkai. 

_ Nothing is damaged? It can't be. Until just now, I was positive… _ , thought Fuuma.

_ But how in the world did he…. _ , thought Sorata.

'Well, I think I must be leaving.', responded Yuuto. 'I concede the right to converse with the Kamui first to you, Sorata-kun.'

'Mister, we should settle our fight one of these days.', said Sorata, once again no longer serious. After all, if his fight had been disrupted once, it probably would be again. Also, Sorata knew that he could not die until he found his love interest, although he had not realised it during the battle as a result of the adrenaline rush.

'I will look forward to it!', said Yuuto. He swirled, jumped and landed on the roof of a house, and began running across the roof.

'Where are you going, mister?' Yuuto stopped.

'The Yamanote Line station.'

'If you try to break it, I'll have to fight you, you know?'

'Wrecking it now will cause logistical difficulties for us.'

'Ah, I get it. Won't you make a cool exit? Like flying away or teleporting?'

'Doing that in normal space would risk exposure.'

'What? Do your clothes not teleport with you?' Yuuto started running again, significantly faster than before. Sorata jumped off of the pillar he had been standing on. 'Mister, it really wasn't me who hurt Kamui. It was a strange guy in a school uniform.' Fuuma wondered whether Kamui was sweating, whether his wounds hurt, whether he was having bad dreams...

'School...uniform…', mumbled Fuuma. He was tired and angry, and, actually, slightly scared.

'Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Arisugawa Sorata. Call me Sora-chan!' There was a pause as Sorata waited for Fuuma to answer. 'You can't take a joke, can you? Jeez, you wouldn't survive in Osaka.'

Fuuma did not care for the joke. He wanted information. 'What kind of guy was the man in the school uniform who wounded Kamui-san?'

'I don't know either, but I'm sure he's involved with the end of the world.' A reasonable assumption, considering. 

Fuuma suddenly found himself somewhere else. It was dark, but it was dark in the sense that a city at night was dark. Feathers floated around him and a sphere floated ahead of him. It was blue and spherical and white wisps covered it.

_ Is this Earth? _ He looked closer, trying to find the shape of a familiar continent.  Instead…  _ There's something inside! _ He looked closer. The sphere, which was translucent, faded slowly, and he saw, but did not recognise, Princess Hinoto. 

(Kamui) (at last I've found you) Inside of the dream world, Hinoto's lips still did not move. (save us) (Kamui)

_ Who the hell is she? _ 'Save...you? From what? Where are you? Who the hell are you, anyway?-'

(save the Earth)

'Earth?' The sphere disappeared, along with Hinoto. He heard the sound of laughter coming from behind him. He saw Kotori, and their mother, and Kamui, and his mother. He saw his mother, dead and no longer entirely human, with blood all over the room. 

<Mother!>

<Onii-chan?>

<She's dead…>

<That's not mother!>

<Kotori. Kotori, forget it. It isn't mother.>

Kamui, too, was dreaming.

<Kamui. We cannot stay in Tokyo any longer.>

<Mother!? Why?>

<Saya is dead.>

<Aunt Saya has died!?>

<For our sake.>

<For our sake!?>

<We cannot allow any more Togakushi people to be killed.>

<The Togakushi shrine people..they'll all die? Fuuma and Kotori and the two fathers and...? I won't let anyone kill them!>

The dream changed, breaking into shards and then reforming. He was in Tokyo. The buildings had almost all collapsed, or been severely damaged. It was almost as if they were being eaten away. However, to his surprise, Tokyo Tower and the Government Building were still standing. The dream changed again. 

-His mother was in front of him- 

-Fire, superimposed on the Earth as viewed from space-

-'Mother? Mother!' 'Kamui, please be strong. You must live, no matter what, until the promised year. 1999.'- 

-The dream changed again- 

-He was kneeling on a flat plane of sand. He turned- 

-A chaotic array of jagged crystals, their ends forming a vague hemisphere, stood before him. Tied to it was Kotori-

'Kotori! Kotori!'

'Kamui-chan…' Her voice sounded tired, like someone who had simply given up. The ropes that bound her convulsed, and Kotori was torn apart as if she was made of layers of stain-proof paper and red ink. Sheets peeled off of the fragments of her body, the top ones the colour of flesh, the lower ones the colour of paper stained with blood. Her head remained intact as it flew towards Kamui. He caught it and screamed, hugging it. The blood disappeared and the sheets of paper turned into feathers, which fell onto and around Kamui. Kotori's head, too, fell into feathers. Kamui looked upwards, and saw a crystal sphere. Hinoto floated inside of it. 

'You made me see this dream.', whimpered Kamui.

(certainly this is a dream I have shown you) (but this is not an illusion) (it is reality) (these are the memories of the distant past) (the memories you cannot forget no matter how hard you try)

'Kotori is alive!', shouted Kamui. He did not want to appear weak. He wanted Hinoto to perceive him as someone who one did not want to mess with, someone that the whimpering wreck Hinoto had seen was not.

(that is the future which will come to pass)

Kamui was annoyed at this statement. His subconscious mind would not allow for the possibility that what he saw was, in fact, real. As he felt that Hinoto was, at least in part, a fraud, his confidence was partially restored. 'The future, you say.', he answered, in a mocking tone.

(Kamui please save the earth in order to change her future please lend me your strength)

Kamui was angered further by this. He remembered reading that some kinds of feathers, when compressed, acquired sharp edges that could cut like knives. He unleashed them in a blast towards Hinoto.

(kamui) (wait) The feathers cut. Hinoto faded, leaving a bloodstained dress behind. 

'I swear' proclaimed Kamui, lifting Hinoto's dress off of the ground and swirling it around himself, 'if you, or anyone who works for you, lay one finger on Kotori or Fuuma, I will kill you!' 

The illusion broke.

Hinoto screamed mentally. Hien and Souhi startled. They felt a sharp, cutting pain in their shoulders, as if knives were being dragged across them. Once they realised what had happened, which, given their training, took only a few seconds, the rushed to Hinoto's aid. The princes's shoulder was bleeding. 'Who did this to you?'

(Kamui)

Kanoe sat alone in the grand hall of her secret base, in a chair which looked like a giant vertical black penis. Of the ones who inhabited the base, Yuuto, who was responsible for its presence, was the only one who actually liked it, but none of them could be bothered to get rid of it. She knew that the Kamui had been found, as only he could drive away Hinoto, the most powerful dream-seer in Japan, out of one of her own dreams. She also knew his weakness. A phone sitting on a table next to Yuuto's compensation chair beeped. She picked it up.

'Have I disturbed you, Kanoe-san?'

'Yuuto?'

'Yes.'

'It is unlike you to use a telephone.'

'Since it seems I will be late for the appointed time, I thought it would be best to phone you.'

'Where are you now?'

'Still in Ikebukuro.'

'It is unlike you to be late.'

'I ended up a bit confined.' He chuckled. 'Inside of a kekkai!'

'A kekkai?'

'Yeah. I thought I would meet the Kamui, but a cheerful lad from Osaka intervened. He put up a kekkai. A cube a few kilometres across. After he dispelled it, there was no damage to normal space.'

'Then he is connected to the end of the world.'

'Yes. What's more, he's one of the Seven Seals.'

'You fought inside a kekkai with one of the Seals.' Yuuto heard the disappointment in her voice, which had replaced the surprise that was there previously

'I'm sorry. But because he was so cheerful, I couldn't help myself! But this time it was a draw, since we had a guest.'

'A guest?' The surprise returned, now combined with confusion and a tinge of doubt.

'Inside the kekkai put up by the Osaka boy, there was an intruder.'

'What!?'

'Indeed, I was also surprised. The Osaka boy… The first requirement of a seal is to create kekkai. To break into a kekkai… who the hell is he? He was a boy of about high school age. And he knew the Kamui! Could that boy be the Kamui, playing an elaborate trick? But how could Sorata-kun, that’s the Osaka boy, by the way, have seen the Kamui? He did not seem like he was lying and…...maybe Sorata-kun was wrong, or just mistaken. The Kamui that Sorata-kun saw could have been a decoy. Did he raise a kekkai? Perhaps that was what Sorata-kun meant when he talked about how Mysterious Person In A School Uniform and the Kamui "left". Or maybe they just did not want Sorata-kun to watch. Or… ...whatever. I was teased by those two, so I came back crying to you.', Yuuto said. The last sentence was clearly sarcastic.

'What are you saying? You're one of the Seven Angels!', Kanoe reprimanded, jokingly.

'I am but a humble civil servant.' The discussion had stopped being serious.

'You're so cute, Yuuto-san.' It had lost all of its intelligent value as well.

'When you arrive here, give me a detailed report.' Wrapping it up

'It will be a pleasure.' Sarcasm, built upon annoyance and resignation with bureaucracy.

_ So one the Seals has seen Kamui, or possibly a decoy, and one of us, along with one of the Seals, has met… _

_ It can't be! _

_ Hinoto has never misread the future. Not even once. As the supreme dreamseer in Japan, even politicians move the country in accordance with her visions. _

_ Hinoto has seen the end of the world in her dreams. I have seen it by sneaking into her dreams.  _

'Have I interrupted your leisure time?'

'No', replied Satsuki. 'Kanoe-san, I am finished now.' She took off the headset that connected her to the main body of the Beast. 

'I want you to check if the boy Sorata-san saw was the real Kamui.'

'I have checked already. The computer answered that he was.' Noticing Kanoe's confusion, Satsuki added that 'the computer monitors for damage to buildings. It notified me that a row of houses was damaged, and later that a skyscraper that was under construction was being destroyed, at which point I decided that it was significant. I asked the computer to look for signatures around the building, and I found one that was of a windmaster, and one that was almost certainly the Kamui. Later some girl appeared, but she never came close enough to any camera to get a match on her, and I cannot tell what kind of magic she uses..'

'Wait, he did not raise a kekkai?'

'Yes.'

'How did you know that Sorata-san had seen him?'

'I followed Kamui and the wind-master guy back to the row of houses and then looked at the wide sweep that the computer had done automatically. It found an electromancer. I asked the computer to do a face-recognition check, and it turned out that his name was Arisugawa Sorata. I take it that Yuuto-san met him?

'Yeah. Did you check the other guy?'

'No. I could not see what was happening inside the kekkai, 40% of the streets around its edge were insufficiently covered, and I never expected anyone to enter or exit it. The location where Sorata-san and Yuuto-san met, which was where Mystery Guy #3 was, was not within the field of view of any active camera. This could be intentional.'

'Well, at least we identified one person. That's promising.'

'Yes, it is. Yuuto-san will be coming soon, and the candidate will be arriving shortly after. As his private secretary, you should return to his office, right?'

'As long as I show my face, it will be fine.'

_ Come the 23rd, I will not even have to do that. When the candidate becomes the governor, we will move to the facility underneath the Government building, and Satsuki will be able to access the main body of Beast. _

Kotori felt an earthquake and wondered what she could do with Kamui.  _ Should I move him beneath the desk? No, he won't be able to fit there. How about _ … she pulled his arm to see if she could move him. It did not work. she pulled again, harder.

'Stop it!', shouted Kamui. It was the first thing Kamui had said since Fuuma had found him. Kotori yelped.

She did not know what to say, so her response was a garbled and frustrated 'I'm sorry, Onii-chan went and found a doctor to examine you, Kamui-ch-no-wait-I-mean-Shirou-kun-um-Kamui-chan-no-Shirou-kun-ahah-kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!'

Sorata and Fuuma, who were just arriving, wondered what the hell was going on. Fuuma slammed the door open, with Sorata hiding behind him. Sorata saw Kotori.

'Kamui-sama! I don't believe it! You and this beautiful maiden! Although you're the Kamui, you're still a mortal man. I understand your feelings! It was a mistake-'. He noticed Fuuma glaring at him. Realising that Fuuma, who was physically stronger and likely to be more magically powerful, was glaring at him, he trailed off. 'to leave him with this...beautiful...girl…' 'Mister, you really can't take a joke!' Fuuma continued to glare. 'Hmph. I'm hungry.'

1 Apr, 10:00 PM

'With cooking skills like this, you'll be ready to be a bride anytime!', said Sorata, loudly. 

'If you say so.', said Kotori, once again with no idea how to respond. She decided to change the subject. 'There was an earthquake just now, wasn't there?'

'Hm? I dunno about it', said Sorata, his mouth full of food.'

'No, there was no earthquake.', said Fuuma.

Kamui was not eating. He was also unusually quiet. 'Does it hurt? If you don't eat, you won't keep up your strength.' Kamui looked sad and stared. 'W...well, if it's all right, I'll bring some soup…'

'Hey, I know how badly you're hurt, but you haven't answered at all.' Sorata was worried, and he wanted to be as nice as possible to Kamui, in order to win him over to the side of the Dragons of Heaven. 'That girl nursed you back to health.'

Kamui made a grumbling noise.

'You sure are a quiet one.' Sorata looked disappointed. Having eaten all of the food provided, he thanked Kotori for the meal. 'Mister, please leave us alone for a minute.' Fuuma glared at him again. 'I'm not going to do anything to him. I just want to speak to Kamui-san about something.' Fuuma glared again and left. 'Sorry, mister, it'll be over soon.'

'I'll be downstairs if you need anything.'

'Does he think I'm going to eat Kamui-san?', Sorata thought out loud. 'How could a cute person like me do something like that?' Sorata noticed that he had actually been talking and tried to cover his tracks by making it seem like it was intentional. 'Right, Kamui-san?'

'I don't like it when strangers call me by my real name.'

'When that girl and her brother aren't around, your manners are totally different, Kamui-san.', said Sorata, with emphasis on the “Kamui-san”, while wagging his finger disapprovingly.

Realising that the situation could get out of hand very fast considering the egos of the participants, Kotori asked Kamui what he wanted. Kamui flinched and grabbed his arms.

'Have you recovered? Does it still hurt?'

'That guy in the school uniform was so persistent. In addition, the girl with the sword that came out of her hand showed up.'

'You bastard! Are you one of them?!', snapped Kamui. Sorata flinched.

'No way! I don't know rough kids like him. And there's no way I would forget the face of a babe like her if I ever met her!' He shook his head vigorously, hoping that Kamui would not realise the half-truth he was speaking.

Kamui no longer seemed ill when he grabbed Sorata by his collar and shoved him against a wall, shouting 'Then why the hell do you know about it!?' 

'Just when I finally found you returning from school and I thought I could talk with you, you flew off with that rough kid. I tried as hard as I could to chase you, but before I knew it, you guys started fighting, without setting up a kekkai.' Kamui released Sorata. Both of them sat back down.

'A kekkai?', said Kamui, once again dazed. 'Come to think about it, that guy in a school uniform also babbled about a-'

'That means that that guy is also associated with the end of the world!'

Kamui remembered his mother burning. He stood up and assumed a defensive stance. 

'Don't get me wrong! I'm not dumb enough to fight the Kamui! Here, drink some tea and calm down!'

Kamui considered for a few seconds, eventually deciding that even if Sorata was a threat, which he almost certainly was not, considering his affability, he was not an immediate one. He took Sorata up on his offer.

Sorata decided to introduce himself. 'I'm a priest at Kouya-san.' Kamui rolled his eyes and nodded in a manner indicating sarcasm. He had heard people claim membership in occult groups before. 'You look like you don't believe me. I understand, it's hard to believe that a priest this cool can exist! Well, I'm different from a typical priest, but I attended high school at Kouya-san.' Kamui stared at him. He was not glaring like he usually was. 'I'll explain why later. Kouya-san is the headquarters of the shingon sect. Recently, due to the influence of manga and other things, the general public has been harassing us.' Sorata sighed. 'Most priests are ordinary ones who seriously practice the Buddhist principles. However, it's full of tourists now, and its image as a mystic place has faded, but there is still a diviner with the title of stargazer inside of Kouya-san. He divines the future by gazing at the stars, but it is different from the astrology you see in magazines. He uses shukuyoudou.' Kamui nodded slowly in a way that made him seem like he was suspicious. This was because he was suspicious : there was no way astrology could work except psychosomatically. Clearly, there was at least some level of cover-up going on here. 'Uh, when I say stargazer, it might seem very romantic, but really, he's just an ordinary priest.' Sorata had failed to realise why Kamui seemed skeptical. 'I've known him since I was a kid, well, I'll explain this later too.' Sorata realised that he was getting nowhere. He realised that Kamui doubted the functionality of astrology, and, as he did not know what the principles of shukuyodo were at a fundamental level, and so could not explain it to Kamui, he switched to another topic of conversation. He suddenly turned serious. 'A week ago from today, a messenger arrived from the stargazer - not a human messenger, a gohou. Do you know what a gohou is?'

Kamui looked puzzled.

'A gohou is a magical familiar used by practitioners of tantric Buddhism. Onmyouji use shiki instead. The shape of the shiki or gohou usually depends on the spell caster, so it's a good opportunity to show off your sense of beauty.' At that, he created a gohou of his own to message the stargazer. 'Quickly, I took a bike to the Kongoubu Temple, where the stargazer was, because if I was late, I would have been forced to listen to his sermon again. When I arrived, he looked unusually serious. He said to me that "Kamui will come back to Tokyo."'

‘I wonder what happened during the last six years.’, said Kotori. ‘When mother passed away, Kamui and his mother left suddenly. I wonder if Tooru-sama is doing OK.’

<Kotori, forget it. That’s not mother. Mother died from sickness. Kotori! That’s not mother. Mother died from sickness. Mother died from sickness!>

<Ah. That’s not mother. Mother died from sickness.>

<

They were walking home.

‘Brother? For dinner, I’ll make-’ A bird was lying dead in the middle of the road, its belly up and its head facing to the side. It was lying in a pool of blood shaped like the letter x. Kotori froze, her eyes widening. 

‘Kotori?’

‘AAH! AAAAAAA!!’

‘Oh god!’ He hugged Kotori. ‘It’s all right. It’s a bird!’

‘Mother… ma… ‘

‘It’s not mother. It’s not mother! Kotori!’

‘NOOOOO! MOTHER!’

‘KOTORI!’

‘MOTHER!’

‘Forget it, Kotori. No matter what happens, Kamui and I will protect you.’

>

Kyougo saw that there was an unnatural lightning storm over Togakushi shrine. The stargazer's gohou arrived through a lighting-rod and delivered its message. He waited for a time, with his head bowed, trying not to cry. He then soberly walked to where he kept the Shinken. 'Saya, in accordance with your wishes, I have continually prayed the day would never come when I have to bring this into the world, but…' he could not bring himself to say more. He picked up the shinken and unsheathed it. 'Kamui, you've finally come back to Tokyo.', he said, holding the shinken. He left the shrine holding his sword in front of him, barely realising it, his mind full of thoughts and questions about Kamui.

‘Brother? What’s wrong?’

‘It’s nothing.’

'Kamui, why did you come back to Tokyo?' Sorata paused and thought. 'One of your relatives must have passed away.'

_ How could this moron know that? Was the astrologer right? Did he have secret sources of information? How would those secret sources of information know about her death? Were they in the government? Was she killed? Were those sources of information the people who had killed her? Was Sorata working for the people who killed her? _ , thought Kamui. This was illogical,and, when he reflected on this later, he knew it and felt slightly sorry about it, but, in the moment, his thoughts immediately locked onto the conclusion that felt right because it gave an emotional response, and that response was anger. Kamui lashed out, grabbing at Sorata's arm. Sorata's arm sparked. Kamui grabbed it anyway, pulling Sorata forwards. Sorata's arm, still held fast by Kamui's hand, grabbed onto Kamui's arm. Sorata returned to a stable stance, pulling Kamui forward, electricity crackling around their arms. Kamui stabilised himself too, and prepared an energy blast. 

'Hey, I know you're really a hot-tempered guy, but I told you that I don't want a fight!', shouted Sorata. Kamui noticed and considered. 'If we fight here, the shrine will get caught up in our fight!' Kamui's grip loosened. 'I don't care about the big guy, but you don't want to hurt that cute girl, do you?' Kamui stared, a bit miffed. He stopped the energy pulse he was charging and released Sorata's arm. 'Grandfather stargazer also stated this : '"Kamui will return, separated from his one and only parent by death. Guided by the star of his own destiny, he will return to Tokyo.'

_ 'Your destiny is waiting', Mother had said. She said not to cause the deaths of any more Togakushi people. You took me away from Tokyo without even taking me to aunt Saya’s funeral. That day, three weeks ago, it was Mother, while enveloped in flames, who told me to return to Tokyo once again. _

'I know that must have been painful. I'm sorry I made you remember.' Sorataa's expression of remorse and sadness changed to one of excitement. Kamui blinked, not believing that Sorata could change emotions so quickly, and once again beginning to doubt Sorata's sincerity.

Kyougo was back inside the shrine. He felt something moving near him. 'Who's there?', he shouted, swirling so his sword faced the direction of the movement. There was a body there. The intruder was standing upright and looked like a human late teenager of indeterminate sex, was wearing something that looked like a highly stylised version of a male school uniform, and had a strange shape on its forehead, like three leaves at 90- degree angles to each other, with the leaves pointing outwards. Based off of its movements, it did not seem to be human. 'What are you?'

'I have come to receive that sword.' There was no emotion in its face, of which the only moving part was its mouth, or its voice, which was flat monotone, with every word perfectly pronounced.

'This holy sword is for Kamui! You know that and yet you still came here?!' Kyougo was furious. The intruder smiled. 'If you know the role of this holy sword, that is all the more reason I can't surrender it, no matter who or what you are!' The shinken shined. Kyougo calmed down, steeling himself for a fight. Kyougo tried for a last chance to prevent a fight, though. 'If you leave now, that's fine with me, but if you plan to challenge me for the sword, you'll die here.' The intruder began to run towards him, its scarf swirling into a barrier in front of her. Kyougo stabbed towards him with the shinken. It hit the intruder’s scarf and bounced.

'Where is Father? Did he go shopping somewhere? Or did he go to the shrine?', asked Kotori.  _ Why was Father so surprised when he saw Kamui? He wasn't surprised because of Kamui's wounds. Come to think of it, even though Mother was so close to Tohru-Obasan, Father hasn't spoken a single word about him and his family since the day Mother died. Why? _ 'Uh…', she said. She noticed her slight sweet tooth. 'I wonder if I should bring some tea upstairs. Speaking of which, we have ice cream. I wonder if Kamui-chan still likes vanilla? We also have strawberry and mocha. I thought I would eat them with you. I would probably be a nuisance. Maybe it would be better if I don't bring anything.' She looked sad.

Fuuma realised that Kotori was in rambling mode again and said something that he was pretty sure would snap her out of it. 'Kotori... are you glad that Kamui has come back?'

'Yeah!' She was beaming and blushing. 'I don't know what happened to Kamui-chan while he was away in Tokyo...but I was happy just to see that he was all right!'

'That's right.', Fuuma said, smiling and putting his hand on her shoulder.

_ What on Earth is it? It has far more power than anything that I have seen that is not related to the end of the world. _

__ _ The boy from Kouya was right. The end of the world has begun. _

__ 'Let me ask you again. It seems that you have no intention of leaving.' Kyougo whirled around with his sword outstretched. The attacker’s scarf assumed a defensive position, a grid over most of a nonexistent sphere around it. 'In order to protect this holy sword, I have sacrificed something that's very precious to me. It is my duty, as priest of this shrine, to protect it.'

'It is my duty to retrieve the sword.', said the attacker, maintaining its monotone voice. Kyougo noticed that its expression had changed slightly. It looked determined.

'Who gave you that order?! There was no reply. The attacker blinked three times. Kyougo realised that they were the first, second and third times his opponent had blinked.

'If you will not answer, I will have no choice but to kill you!' Kyougo launched himself at his opponent. The sword had been charging for the entire time they were staring each other down, and it managed to cut through the shield of scarf, shooting lightning. What Kyougo failed to realise was that it had also been charging an attack. Normally he would have noticed something like that, but his opponent was not of a type of entity that he had encountered before. He thought that victory by way of stabbing his opponent was certain when a massive blast pushed him across the room.

Kotori and Fuuma heard a loud crash. 

'It came from the shrine!', shouted Kotori, getting up and starting to run.

'Stay here!', shouted Fuuma. Kotori could run fast for a short period of time, but she would get tired quickly. And if the crash was some sort of attack, he did not want Kotori to be in the shrine. Kotori stopped. Fuuma started running. 

'What's that sound?', asked Sorata. Kamui doubled over in pain, clutching his arms.'What happened? Do your wounds hurt?', asked Sorata, worried.

'No. I- I think- it feels like- something… called to me.'

Kyougo and his opponent stood on opposite sides of the room. Kyougo was thinking out loud. 'Although the sword is not in the hands of Kamui, it is hard to believe that anyone actually withstood the shinken's lightning. Could it be that - one of the seven seals?' The attacker nodded "no". 'One of the seven angels?' It glared. 'You are --?' With his thoughts moving in every which way, he did not notice his opponent jumping towards him until its hand smashed through him. 'You must be- you're-', he said, lying in a pool of his blood, straining himself to move towards his attacker.

'Nataku', she said.

  
  


‘Father!!’, shouted Fuuma, opening the door of Togakushi Shrine, and seeing his father lying in a pool of blood. ‘Father!!’, he shouted, running towards Kyougo and trying to lift him. ‘Can you hear me?’

‘Don’t try to lift him yet!’, said Kamui, running in. ‘Call for an ambulance!’ He ran towards Kyougo and put his hand on the left side of his chest.  _ His heart is beating and he’s breathing. Good. _ He turned Kyougo onto his left side, so that the hole in the right side of his chest was above the level of his heart. He then gestured to Sorata, who had entered the room. ‘Can you do a thing to disinfect my hand and sleeve?’

‘Sorry, it’s going to hurt a bit.’ Sorata pulled a few ofuda and a pen out of one of his pockets, wrote spells on the ofuda, and threw them. They landed on Kamui’s arm and sleeve.

‘Ow! Did you just set my hand on fire?’

‘It killed *everything* on the surface of your skin. I think.’

‘Well, that’s reassuring.’ 

Kamui then pushed his arm into the hole in Kyougo’s chest. Fuuma turned towards him with an expression of fury on his face.

‘He’s trying to stop the blood flow.’, explained Sorata. ‘I think he knows what he’s doing.’ 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. The big change here is that Kyougo is going to live for a bit longer like how he does in the anime. I chose to delay his death because volumes 3, 4, and 5 feel much more natural with Kotori and Fuuma not grieving.
> 
> Also, on Nataku and pronouns : The narration in this story is, for the most part, third-person-following various characters rather than third-person-omniscient. In the scenes with Nataku in this volume, the narration is following Kyougo, who basically sees Nataku as an uncanny valley monster thing. The last mention of Nataku has her stating her name. At that point, she goes from being a "monster" (only differentiated from other "monsters" by appearance and powers) to a "person" (with a name and an identity) who cannot be referred to with "it". Also, Kyougo is losing consiousness at this point, so the narration switches to being third-person-omniscient.
> 
> Once again, thanks to CLAMP for creating X/1999, and thanks to Leareth, AKK, and many others for keeping it alive even 17 years after its cancellation.


End file.
